PHP SMTP_port. . . huh?

[thetestingsite]

Just a quick question. Are you using your local server to test before uploading to the live site? If so, why don't you just upload your web hosting server so that you can see for sure if it works. As said before, your code is fine and should work; but you need to have an actual mail server running for it to work perfectly.

Hope this helps.

[Twey]

You can't, sendmail doesn't exist for Windows.

[Jas]

Twey: Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!

thetestingsite: There's the problem. I am going to be hosting the site myself (on a windows XP as far as I know-- but it may be linux). Does it make a difference if it's not actually a site yet when I am hosting it myself?

Speaking of, Twey, would it work on a linux?
Otherwise, what should I do now? I really need this function.

[thetestingsite]

Well, if you are going to be hosting it yourself, you will need to make the machine a functional server. This usually means having a web "server" (apache), some server side languages (php, asp, perl, etc), database (mysql, postgresql, etc), and a mail server (hmailserver, iMailServer, sendmail, postfix, etc). I recommend running it on a linux machine as it is usually more reliable; however, I have run hosting machines with Win XP before and it worked fine. I recommend finding a host that already has the server set up for optimal performance and functionality.

Hope this helps.

[Twey]

Speaking of, Twey, would it work on a linux?

Yes.

I recommend running it on a linux machine as it is usually more reliable

Also one heck of a lot easier to set up. The basic LAMP environment can usually be installed and configured in a single command.

[thetestingsite]

Yes.Also one heck of a lot easier to set up. The basic LAMP environment can usually be installed and configured in a single command.

I couldn't agree more.

[Jas]

Hate to interupt the bash on microsoft but that's not what I am interested in. I need a fix to make this emailing function work. How do I do it, even if it isn't with gmail? (preferably on windows for now.) Nothing has been going right on this one. . .

But while we're on servers, what do I need (besides wamp) to turn either an XP or a linux into a server?
(emailing is still the priority here, though )

[thetestingsite]

as said before:

This usually means having a web "server" (apache), some server side languages (php, asp, perl, etc), database (mysql, postgresql, etc), and a mail server (hmailserver, iMailServer, sendmail, postfix, etc).

Hope this helps.

[Twey]

Hate to interupt the bash on microsoft

That was an objective statement. It seems you are having quite a lot of trouble setting up a working webserver on Windows. I do too. There's a lot of effort required, which is why packages like WAMP exist, but you're still having issues. On Fedora, this would be:

yum install httpd php

... and you're ready to start serving pages (complete with emails if necessary, everything includes sendmail). It's not necessarily a bad point of Windows, but Apache, PHP, and MySQL were all designed for UNIX-like platforms and are used most often on those platforms, and it's consequently a lot easier to work with them there.

[Jas]

That's great, but in a nutshell you're saying that I need WAMP (which obviously has apache and PHP and MySQL) and a mail server. My question is: do I need anything else? And, I don't need a mailserver if I am using another site's SMTP, do I?

EDIT: thanks Twey.
EDIT2: So, if I did this on a UNIX, what would I need to change in my original script, and would I be able to host the SMTP myself, or would my ISP still mess it up? (if it messes it up, how do I use gmail?)